![]() This month's new crescent moon is in a particularly favorable position for viewing, standing high in the twilight after sundown, setting an hour later on successive nights. On both evenings it is near the southern border of Pisces. March 4-5: You might see the slender crescent moon on the evening of the 4th if the sunset sky is exceptionally clear, though surely on the 5th. It's also farthest from Earth (apogee) on the 2nd. It's new (between sun and Earth) on the 2nd, and can only be seen in the constellation Aquarius during daylight or very bright twilight. March 1-2: No moon is visible on either night. The events described in the calendar are in local time unless otherwise indicated. Above all, look for these three during the last third of March when the waning moon is moving through that part of the sky, passing each bright star and planet in turn. Mars also slowly separates from Saturn and approaches Antares during the month. If you look for these morning planets repeatedly during March, you should notice Mars brightening as it approaches early May's opposition from the sun. Next upward and toward the right is ruddy-looking Antares, dimmest of the five then Mars, second brightest and finally Saturn, which is close to Mars, and Spica, the more distant, though similar to Mars in appearance. Together with Antares and Spica, brightest stars of Scorpius and Virgo respectively, they form a string of five bright objects easily recognized.īegin with Jupiter, brightest and lowest. Brightness and position guide you to them easily they are set in the southeast sky where they stretch out in line from brilliant Jupiter upward and toward the south. Though Saturn and Mars are up before midnight, best viewing time for the planets in March is still the early morning darkness before dawn breaks, when all three - Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter - are high and clear of the horizon. The latter planet, rising more than two hours after Mars, is by far the brightest ''star'' you see on March nights this year. Now Mars is clearly the brighter, reaching over double the shine of Saturn by the end of March, though still no match for Jupiter. Earlier in the year, Saturn was easily the brighter of the two, but Mars brightened in February to equal and then surpass Saturn as the two exchange places as ''first up'' in the morning sky. (an hour or so later in early March, a bit earlier at the end of the month), when Saturn rises among the dim stars of Libra, followed about an hour later by Mars. The planet show begins this month about 10 p.m. But we will have good views of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, more than making up for the absence of Venus. The outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, though well-placed morning stars, are too dim to be seen. Mercury and Venus, though, are too close to the sun all month to be visible, being in the sky only during daylight or bright morning twilight. Until Mercury moves past the sun into the evening sky on March 8, all planets are morning stars.
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